Stunning New Footage Shows Mysterious Giant Deep-Sea ‘Phantom’ Jelly As Never Seen Before

MBARI’s observations of the giant phantom jelly have helped illuminate the animal’s ecological role in the ocean’s depths. During an expedition to the Gulf of California, for example, another MBARI ROV, Tiburon, recorded a fish -the pelagic brotula (Thalassobathia pelagica) – alongside a giant phantom jelly. Researchers watched as the brotula hovered above the bell of its host and swam in and out of the jelly’s enormous oral arms. As the wide-open depths of the midnight zone offer little shelter, many creatures find refuge in the gelatinous animals that are abundant in this environment.